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NIPPON  SEI  KO  KWAI 


THE  JAPAN  HOLY  CATHOLIC 
CHURCH 


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This  map  shows  the  division  of  dioceses  in  Japan  between  the  American^'and  Enjilish  Churches 
and  a few  of  the  principal  stations. 

The  American  dioceses  are  Tokyo  and  Kyoto.  The  English  dioceses  are  Hokkaido,  South 
Tokyo,  Osaka,  and  Kyushu. 

Note  : Since  this  map  was  drawn  a seventh  diocese  has  been  established,  supported  by  the 
Church  of  England  in  Canada.  It  embraces  the  northern  part  of  South  Tokyo  and  Kyoto  and  is 
called  the  diocese  of  Centra!  Japan. 


2 


NIPPON  SEI  KO  KWAI 


THE  JAPAN  HOLY  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 


HISTORY 

THE  BEGINNINGS  St.  Francis  Xavier 

preached  the  Gospel 
first  in  Japan.  He  came  in  the  wake  of  the 
Portuguese  traders,  landing  in  Kagoshima  in 
1549.  Owing  to  a peculiar  combination  of  cir- 
cumstances, in  which  politics  played  an  important 
part,  the  Christian  faith  was  speedily  adopted  by 
great  numbers  of  the  people.  At  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  it  is  said  that  there  were  a 
million  baptized  Christians.  This  phenomenal 
success,  however,  did  not  attend  the  mission  for 
long.  The  Shoguns  (the  rulers  of  Japan), 
thinking  that  the  continuance  of  Christianity  in 
their  land  was  inimical  to  its  best  interests,  insti- 
tuted a fierce  persecution,  and  by  1638  the  new 
religion  was  practically  crushed  out. 

For  more  than  two  hundred  years  no  public 
Christian  service  was  held  in  Japan,  not  in 
fact  until  the  doors  of  the  Sunrise  Kingdom  had 
been  forced  open  and  Western  commerce  and 
civilization  admitted.  It  was  in  1853  that 
Commodore,  Perry’s  “thunder  ships’’  steamed 
into,  the  Bay  of  Yedo,  and  he  entered  into 
3 


negotiations  with  the  Japanese  government;  it  was 
during  his  stay  that  the  first  Christian  service 
since  the  sev'enteenth  century  was  celebrated ; 
a burial  service,  after  the  ritual  of  our  own 
Prayer  Book. 

The  first  missionaries  to  enter  Japan  under 
the  new  treaty  were  two  priests  of  our  Church, 
the  Rev.  John  Liggins  and  the  Rev.  Channing 
Moore  Williams.  These  settled  in  Nagasaki 
early  in  1859.  After  many  discouraging  vicis- 
situdes, and  after  working  for  years  almost  in 
secret,  they  succeeded  in  sowing  seed  which  has 
since  borne  good  fruit. 

The  chief  dates  of  the  preliminary  period  of 
the  American  Mission  In  Japan  are: 

1866 — Mr.  Williams  baptizes  his  first  convert. 

Mr.  Williams  consecrated  Bishop  of 
China  and  Japan. 

1870 — Chapel  built  and  first  confirmation  held 
in  Osaka. 

1874 — Bishop  Williams  becomes  Bishop  of 
Yedo  (Tokyo). 

1878 — First  Conference  of  Anglican  Missionaries 
held.  Common  Prayer  Book  adopted. 

1883 — First  Japanese  ordained  to  the  Ministry. 

1887 — The  Nippon  Sel  Ko  Kwai  holds  its  first 
Synod  and  adopts  Its  Constitution. 

THE  SET  KO  KWAI  Meanwhile  English 

missionaries  under  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  and 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  had  come  to 
Japan  and  begun  their  work,  and  in  1883 

4 


the  first  English  bishop,  the  Rt.  Rev.  A.  W.  Poole, 
was  consecrated.  In  1887  the  English  and 
American  Missions  joined  forces  as  a single, 

national  Church,  and  the  Nippon  Sei  Ko  Kwai 
held  is  first  synod  and  adopted  its  constitu- 
tion. Since  this  time  solid  and  safe  progress  has 
been  made.  We  are  all  apt  to  expect  and 

demand  overmuch  speed  in  the  advance  of  the 

Kingdom.  If  we  should  be  warned  of  its 

futility  anywhere  it  should  be  in  Japan.  In  the 
sixteenth  century  it  “boomed” — and  made  serious 
mistakes.  Too  rapid  progress  is  just  as  bad 
for  the  Church  as  for  anything  else.  Conse- 
quently we  do  not  ask  to  see  a Church  of  tens 
of  thousands  at  the  end  of  thirty-five  years. 
What  we  have  accomplished  has  been  well  done 
and  those  who  understand  the  conditions  are 
content  to  thank  God. 

The  chief  dates  during  these  last  years  are: 

1889 — Bishop  Williams  resigns  the  jurisdiction 
of  Yedo. 

1893 —  The  Rev.  John  McKim  consecrated 

Bishop  of  Tokyo. 

1894 —  1896 — Jurisdictions  of  the  American  and 

English  Bishops  delimited  and  defined. 
Sei  Ko  Kwai  divided  into  districts  of 
South  Tokyo,  Osaka,  Hokkaido,  Ky- 
ushyu  (English)  and  North  Tokyo  and 
Kyoto  (American). 

1900 — Rev.  Sidney  C.  Patridge  consecrated  first 
Bishop  of  Kyoto. 

1912 — Rev.  Henry  St.  George  Tucker  conse- 
crated Bishop  of  Kyoto. 


5 


6 


SYNOD  OF  THF  NIPPON  SKI  KO  KWAI  IN  1911 


METHODS  OF  WORK 

IN  discussing  present  conditions  in  the  Mission 
and  the  methods  employed  by  our  staff  of 
some  413  workers,  the  chief  emphasis  must  be 
upon  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  All  other 
forms  of  work  are  but  handmaids  to  this.  It 
must,  however,  always  be  remembered  that  points 
of  contact  must  be  supplied  whereby  the  mis- 
sionary may  reach  the  people,  and  hence  forms 
of  work  other  than  direct  evangelization  have 
to  be  carried  on.  All  in  all,  we  may  group  the 
various  activities  of  the  Mission  under  three 
heads:  I.  Evangelistic;  II.  Educational;  III. 
Medical. 

EVANGELISTIC  In  the  larger  cities  the 
work  of  the  parish  churches 
is  similar  to  the  work  in  any  city  parish  in 
the  United  States.  Many  parishes  are  partially 
or  entirely  self-supporting.  They  have  their 
own  vestries  and  their  Japanese  rector.  Others 
are  more  like  our  mission  chapels.  These 
are  in  charge  of  a foreign  clergyman  and 
supported  by  the  Bishop.  The  regular  services, 
the  special  “preaching  services,”  the  guilds, 
the  societies,  the  Sunday-schools,  parish  kinder- 
gartens and  night  schools,  the  visiting  and 
parochial  work,  all  of  these  go  along  in  much 
the  same  way  as  parochial  work  in  this 
country.  The  aim'  is  everywhere  the  same — 
to  minister  to  those  who  are  already  Christians, 
and  to  win  the  “not-yet-Christians”  for  the 
Master. 

7 


In  the  country  districts  the  methods  employed 
are  much  the  same,  but  the  organization  is 
somewhat  different.  Some  strongly  established 
church  is  taken  as  the  center.  The  priest-in- 
charge of  the  district  (usually  a foreigner)  is 
rector  of  this  central  church.  The  various 
missions  in  the  outlying  towns  and  villages  are 
in  charge  of  native  workers — sometimes  ordained 
men,  but  usually  catechists  or  Bible  women,  or 
perhaps  some  new  recruit  from  the  United  States 
who  is  learning  the  language  and  the  methods  of 
work  by  residing  alone  in  a country  station. 
The  priest-in-charge  visits  his  various  missions, 
administering  the  sacraments,  examining  the 
catechumens  (by  which  is  meant  those  under 
probation  while  waiting  for  baptism)  and  the 
candidates  for  confirmation,  and  directing  the 
resident  workers.  In  all  the  evangelistic  work 
the  preaching  and  visiting  are,  of  course,  of 
primary  importance,  and  in  both  of  these  the 
native  worker  is  naturally  much  more  effective 
than  the  foreigner. 

EDUCATIONAL  This  work  may  be  grouped 

under  two  heads:  that 
which  is  undertaken  with  a view  to  estab- 
lishing a point  of  contact  with  the  people, 
and  that  which  is  planned  to  provide  Japan 
with  a body  of  well-educated  native  workers, 
both  clerical  and  lay.  It  must  not  be  thought 
that  these  are  the  only  objects  of  our  educa- 
tional endeavors,  inasmuch  as  Japan  is  not  as 
yet  well-provided  with  schools,  either  academic 

8 


or  industrial.  Our  work,  therefore,  makes  a 
valuable  contribution  to  the  national  life. 

Under  the  first  group  we  find  the  kindergartens, 
the  night  schools  and  the  industrial  schools. 
These  are  parochial  in  their  nature,  being  opened 
in  almost  every  case  as  a means  of  reaching  the 
people  of  the  district,  and  being  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  parish  priest  or  the  missionary  in 
charge  of  the  district. 

The  kindergarten  as  a missionary  agent  was 
first  tried  in  our  mission  in  Japan  in  1905,  when 
Mrs.  Madeley  opened  the  Akita  kindergarten. 
There  are  now  thirteen  reported,  and  several 
more  have  recently  been  opened. 

There  are  six  night  schools,  five  In  Kyoto  and 
one  in  Tokyo.  Those  at  Fukui,  Nara  and 
Wakayama  are  for  young  men  who  wish  to 
receive  an  English  education.  The  Kawaguchi 
Commercial  Night  School  In  Osaka  is  maintained 
in  connection  with  Christ  Church.  The  Osaka 
Alrin  Night  School,  on  the  other  hand,  is  main- 
tained by  the  Widely  Loving  Society,  and  is  for 
those  poor  children  who  are  unable  to  receive  any 
education  except  in  a night  school.  The  Prlest-in- 
Charge  at  MIto  considers  his  night  school  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  Church. 

In  connection  with  the  Widely  Loving  Society 
it  might  be  well  to  mention  here  the  three  Church 
Orphanages,  one  of  which  is  maintained  at 
Osaka  by  the  Widely  Loving  Society,  a society 
composed  largely  of  native  Christians.  The 
other  orphanages  are  St.  John’s  at  Osaka,  and 
Holy  Trinity  Orphanage  in  Takinogawa,  Tokyo. 

9 


IN'I  HRIOR  OF 
HOLY  'I  RINI'I'Y 
CATHEDRAL, 
TOKYO.  JAPAN 


10 


All  three  orphanages  were  founded  and  are 
supported  entirely  by  the  Japanese  themselves, 
and  are  a very  lively  proof  of  the  reality  of  their 
religion. 

We  have  live  industrial  schools  for  women 
connected  with  our  mission.  In  four  of  these — 
the  schools  at  Aomori,  Hirosaki,  Hashimoto  and 
Iwasa — sewing  and  embroidery,  together  with 
the  tea-ceremony,  flower-arrangement  and  eti- 
quette are  taught.  In  Kanazawa,  however,  St. 
Elizabeth’s  School  of  Needlework  not  only 
teaches  the  women  sewing  and  embroidery  but 
also  employs  them  to  make  goods  for  the  market. 
The  reason  for  this  is  that  in  Kanazawa,  as  in 
other  manufacturing  cities,  the  factory  conditions 
are  deplorable  and  the  opportunity  of  working 
under  proper  conditions  is  eagerly  embraced  by 
the  women.  In  all  these  schools  the  Bible  is 
taught  and  a point  of  contact  is  established  be- 
tween the  people  and  the  Church. 

Under  the  second  group  of  schools,  i.  e.,  those 
established  primarily  for  the  sake  of  supplying 
a Christian  academic  education  for  the  young 
men  and  women  of  Japan,  we  have  three  general 
schools:  St.  Paul’s,  St.  Margaret’s  and  St. 

Agnes’s;  and  three  training  schools:  the  Centra! 
Theological  College,  St.  Matthias’  School  for 
Catechists,  and  the  Sendai  Training  School  for 
M ission  Women. 

St.  Paul’s  College,  Tokyo,  is  an  institution 
operating  under  Government  license.  It  is  the 
only  school  with  a college  department  connected 
with  the  Sei  Ko  Kwai,  and  the  only  boys’  board- 
ing and  day  school  maintained  by  the  mission 

11 


of  the  American  Church.  It  comprises  a middle 
school  and  a college  department.  The  Christian 
teaching  is  voluntary  in  the  schools,  but  compul- 
sory in  the  dormitory.  St.  Paul’s  College  is 
about  to  be  transferred  from  its  present  quarters 
in  Tsukiji,  the  foreign  part  of  Tokyo,  to  more 
commodious  buildings  on  the  new  site  in  the  out- 
skirts of  Tokyo,  opposite  the  Central  Theological 
Seminary. 

St.  Margaret’s  School,  founded  in  Tokyo  in 
1877,  and  St.  Agnes’s  School,  founded  in  Osaka 
in  1874,  and  transferred  to  Kyoto,  where  it  is 
now  know  as  “The  Girls’  High  School  of  the  City 
of  Peace,’’  are  the  girls’  boarding  and  day  schools 
of  the  northern  and  southern  districts  respectively. 
Both  schools  are  licensed  by  the  Government  and 
conform  to  its  rules  and  standards.  This  means 
that,  as  at  St.  Paul’s,  the  religious  education  is 
\’oluntary  in  the  day  school,  but  compulsory  in 
the  dormitory. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  American  Mission, 
Bishop  Williams  opened  Trinity  Divinity  School 
in  Tokyo  for  the  training  of  catechists  and 
the  preparation  of  candidates  for  Holy  Orders. 
Later  it  became  advisable  to  separate  the  school 
for  catechists.  This  school  is  still  maintained 
as  St.  Matthias’s  School  for  Catechists.  Trinity 
Divinity  School,  however,  has  lately  been 
merged  in  the  new  Central  Theological  School 
which  the  English  Church  has  founded  with  a 
part  of  the  great  Pan-Anglican  Thank-Offering. 
The  plan  is  that  the  English  Church  shall  pro- 
vide the  Theological  School,  and  the  American 

12 


Church  the  preparatory  College  (St.  Paul’s), 
which  shall  furnish  the  Sei  Ko  Kwai  with  that 
upon  which  its  very  existence  depends — a 
well-educated  and  thoroughly  trained  native 
ministry. 

Important  as  it  is  to  have  well-prepared 
clergy  and  catechists,  it  is  also  most  important 
to  have  well-trained  women  evangelists  or 
“Bible  women.”  The  Church  Training  School 
for  Mission  Women  at  Sendai  provides  for  this 
need.  In  connection  with  the  Sendai  School  there 
is  a kindergarten,  and  it  is  hoped  that  in  the 
near  future  a kindergarten  normal  school  may 
be  opened  as  one  department  of  the  Training 
School. 

Before  leaving  the  educational  side  of  the 
work  of  the  American  Church  in  Japan,  atten- 
tion should  be  called  to  the  various  agencies 
through  which  the  students  in  the  Government 
schools  and  colleges  are  reached.  The  peculiar 
necessity  for  such  work  will  be  realized  when 
on  the  one  hand  is  considered  the  importance 
of  reaching  the  class  from  which  will  come  the 
future  leaders  in  Japan,  and  on  the  other  the 
great  dangers  which  beset  Japanese  students  who 
for  the  most  part  are  living  in  cheap  boarding 
houses,  without  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
sort  of  college  life  to  which  we  are  accustomed 
in  the  United.  States.  In  Kanda,  Tokyo, 
the  student  work  centers  around  All  Saints’ 
Church,  and  a boarding-house  for  girls  is  main- 
tained. In  Hongo,  Tokyo,  there  is  a hostel  for 
boys,  the  Doshikwai,  and  St.  Timothy’s  Church, 
13 


where  Bible  Classes  and  special  services  for  the 
students  are  provided.  In  the  student  district  of 
Kyoto  St.  Mary’s  Mission  does  a similar  work, 
and  in  Fukui  and  Kanazawa  there  are  church 
hostels. 

MEDICAL  The  American  Church  Mission 
in  Japan  maintains  two  hospitals: 
St.  Barnabas’s  Hospital,  Osaka,  dates  from  1833 
and  owes  its  existence  and  excellent  work  to  the 
unremitting  and  splendid  seindces  of  Dr.  Henry 
Laning.  Two  years  ago  Dr.  Laning’s  son.  Dr. 
George  M.  Laning,  a graduate  of  Ann  Arbor 
University,  took  charge  of  the  hospital  which  had 
recently  been  rebuilt.  The  equipment  of  the  hos- 
pital has  been  much  improved.  Another  physician 
is  urgently  needed  to  assist  Dr.  Laning  in  the 
present  hospital  and  in  the  development  of  the 
new  institution.  Plans  are  now  under  considera- 
tion to  this  end  and  it  is  hoped  that  in  the  near 
future  new  buildings  can  be  erected  to  take  care 
of  the  increasing  demands  made  upon  the  hospital. 
St.  Luke’s,  Tokyo,  is  one  of  the  best  and  finest 
equipped  for  its  size  in  Asia.  It  ministers  not 
only  to  Japanese  but  to  many  foreigners.  Its 
rapid  development  in  the  last  fifteen  years  and 
its  present  excellent  condition  are  largely  due  to 
Dr.  d'eusler,  who  has  been  physician  in  charge 
since  1900.  The  fund  for  building  the  new  St. 
Luke’s  Hospital  amounts  noAV  to  $350,000,  and 
it  is  hoped  building  will  be  started  within  the 
year.  Japanese  physicians  are  used  both  in  St. 
Barnabas’s  and  St.  Luke’s  Hospitals  and  both  in- 
stitutions are  practically  self-supporting. 


14 


THE  SEI  KO  KWAI  IN  1916 

The  Nippon  Sei  Ko  Kwai  is  divided  into  seven 
jurisdictions,  as  follows: 


Jurisdiction 

Bishop 

Maintained  by 

Tokyo 

John  McKim,  D.D. 

The  American 
Church. 

South  Tokyo 

Cecil  Boutflower,  D.U. 

The  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  and  the 
Church  Missionary 
Society  of  Eng- 

Osaka 

Hugh  Foss,  D.D. 

land. 

Kyoto 

Henry  St.  G.  Tucker,  D.D. 

The  American 
Church. 

Kyushyu 

Arthur  Lea,  D.D. 

The  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  of 
England. 

Hokkaido 

Walter  Andrews,  D.D. 

The  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  of 
• England. 

Mid- Japan 

Heber  J.  Hamilton,  D.D. 

The  Church  of  Eng- 
land in  Canada. 

Total  number  of  Communicants  (1914),  16,752. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
MISSION,  1916 

Bishops,  2.  Priests,  53.  (Foreign,  20;  Native,  33).  Deacons 
15  (Foreign,  2;  Native,  13).  Total  number  of  workers,  413 
(Foreign,  79;  Native,  334).  Mission  Stations,  125.  Schools, 
49.  Hospitals,  2.  Native  Communicants,  3,483. 


15 


The  work  in  the  districts  of  Tokyo 
and  Kyoto,  Japan,  is  carried  on 
under  an  appropriation  by  the  Board  of 
Missions  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and 
is  typical  of  the  work  which  the  Church 
is  doing  in  other  quarters  of  the  world. 

Contributions  to  support  this  work 
should  be  sent  to  George  Gordon  King, 
Treasurer,  281  Fourth  Avenue,  New 
York,  N.  Y. 


Copies  of  this  leaflet  can  be  had 
by  applying  to  the  Literature  De- 
partment, Church  Missions  House, 
281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 
Ask  for  No.  300. 


IE(1.,  3-](i.  ]5ir.  Sc'h. 


